An obvious pattern developed Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
Right after Shohei Ohtani walked in the third inning, Mookie Betts singled.
Right after Ohtani walked in the fourth, Betts doubled.
Right after Ohtani walked in the sixth, Betts homered.
Just one for 10 in the previous three games, Betts was four for six with four runs batted in and three runs scored.
This was what the Dodgers were counting on Betts to do. This was what they expected their offense to look like.
Now, in the wake of a 10-2 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field, the Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series three games to one. They’re one win from playing in their fourth World Series in eight seasons. They’ll enter the potential clinching game of this series Friday with Betts finally playing like Betts again.
For him to break out of his funk, Ohtani was required to break out of his.
In his first at-bat of the game, Ohtani collected his first hit with the bases empty this postseason, completely obliterating a 91-mph sinker by José Quintana that remained over the heart of the plate.
Distance traveled: 422 feet.
Exit velocity: 117.8 mph.
Result: home run.
Ohtani was hitless in his previous 22 at-bats without runners on base. He pointed to his team’s bench as he started to round the bases, an acknowledgment of what Freddie Freeman told him before the game. (Freeman was held out because of a sprained ankle.)
“Freddie told me before the game we didn’t need another late show,” Ohtani explained in Japanese, a reference to how he didn’t homer in Game 3 until the eighth inning.
The Dodgers didn’t remain ahead for long, as Mets third baseman Mark Vientos leveled the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run of his own. However, Ohtani’s first-inning blast influenced the remainder of the game. Quintana never challenged him again.
With the bases empty in the third inning, Ohtani walked on four pitches. With Chris Taylor on first base in the fourth, Ohtani drew another walk. With the bases empty once more in the sixth, he walked again on four pitches, this time with reliever José Buttó on the mound.
Each time, Betts punished the opponent. His two-run homer in the sixth inning off Phil Maton extended the Dodgers’ edge to 7-2 and placed the game out of the Mets’ limited reach.
“There was a stretch there for like two or three at-bats, I don’t think he even saw a pitch remotely close, which I understand,” Betts said of Ohtani.
Betts might have understood, but manager Dave Roberts guessed that he was nonetheless insulted.
“I think that Mookie takes it personal, like all competitors should,” Roberts said. “I do think that stuff like that lights a little fire under him.”
Betts was a beneficiary of the Mets’ fear of Ohtani, but Ohtani also was a beneficiary of Betts’ production. All three of his walks resulted in runs, including in the fourth inning when he scored from first on a double by Betts.
“I prepare myself to score when he hits,” Ohtani said. “Whether I’m on first or second, when he hits, I’d like to have the mindset that I will return home.”
For Betts, his breakout performance came as a relief. He’d practically locked himself in the batting cage this week, taking hundreds of swings a day.
Asked what inspired him to take such extreme measures to get back on track, Betts replied, “It comes from the lack of help I’ve given the team.”
Betts explained: “It’s not something I want to do. I don’t want to hit all day. But it’s something that, based on my play, I need to do.”
Based on Betts’ play in Game 4, the decision of whether to pitch around Ohtani became harder for the Mets, as well as whichever team plays the Dodgers in the World Series.
“It’s going to be tough to just walk him all the time, especially with the lineup and the guys, Freddie being in play as well,” Betts said. “We’ll see. If they want to continue to do it, that’s OK. I just need to make sure I take care of my job.”
When Betts did that Thursday night, the Dodgers didn’t just look like National League champions. They looked like World Series champions.
